1/3. diagnosis of acute typhus infection using the polymerase chain reaction.The first use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of an acute rickettsial infection is described. A primer pair derived from the 17-kDa antigen sequence of rickettsia rickettsii gave specific amplification of a 434-base pair dna fragment from the genome of rocky mountain spotted fever and endemic and epidemic typhus. The assay could detect as few as 30 rickettsiae. Detection of PCR-amplified dna with a nonradioactive dna probe confirmed an acute infection with rickettsia prowazekii.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/3. Possible typhus-group infection in new york State: presentation of four suspect cases.Epidemiologic investigations were recently conducted on four cases which were reported in new york State in 1986 and 1987, three of which were within one family. These included hospital chart reviews, case or family interviews, animal trappings, and ectoparasite surveys. serologic tests and immunoblots were performed on blood samples obtained from these patients. All four patients had acute febrile illnesses; two required hospitalization and one died. Microimmunofluorescence test results using rickettsia typhi and R. prowazekii antigens showed a greater than or equal to 4-fold increase in titer with paired sera from three patients. The remaining patient had a single serum titer of 4096 with both antigens. In addition, sera from all patients reacted with R. typhi in the immunoblot test and, from the three patients for whom sera were available, also with R. prowazekii. Results suggest that the four patients were exposed to the typhus-group rickettsiae or to an organism which shares a common epitope(s).- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/3. papilledema in endemic typhus.A 21-year-old women developed severe bilateral papilledema during an acute febrile disease. Her optic disk margins were blurred and the disks were elevated up to 5 diopters. Splinter hemorrhages, cotton-wool exudates, cytoid bodies, and sheathing of veins were also present. The pyrexia was caused by murine typhus diagnosed by serologic tests. These tests revealed that proteus OX-19 agglutination titer rose to 1:12800, and a positive complement fixation test titer was 1:640 with Rickettsia mooseri antigens. Neurological examination results, skull roentgenograms, brain scan, electroencephalogram, and the cerebrospinal fluid were all within normal range, thereby excluding intracranial hypertension. After the patient's recovery from the rickettsial disease, the papilledema abated gradually until her fundi reverted to normal.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |